Saturday Morning Treat

Today after Marky's morning football game Daddy and Marky surprised us by bringing home yummy doughnuts! Can you guess who the punkin was for? Our little punkin girl Sissybug.

Tucker said "Nummy foo-ball cookie".

Quote of the Day

After going into a Halloween Costume Supercenter to look for a Dallas Cowboy Football Player costume for Marky, we were all shocked at how greusome and scary the front displays were (I mean- right when you walk in- flesh eating zombies and stuff). We looked quickly at the costumes (and of course they didn't have it) and then...

Marky: I want to leave here and never come back.

Mommy: You know this is all pretend, it's just plastic- there's nothing to be scared of.

Marky: Oh, I know, I'm not scared- it's just not beautiful.

Out of the mouths of babes.

St. Louis Cathedral- New Orleans

On Saturday night in New Orleans we were blessed to attend Mass at St. Louis Cathedral, the oldest cathedral in the United States. What a wonderful, holy place. It struck me that right outside the cathedral were tons of palm readers, fortune tellers, tarot card readers, etc. The enemy had put up his army right outside the doors of God's house.

I have always loved beautiful Gothic architecture since long before we became Catholic. When I worked one summer in downtown Mobile I went to the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception every day during my lunch hour to pray. I was just drawn to the quiet, holy space (even though I was still certain Catholics were probably not Christians). :) The architecture lifted my spirit from the troubles of the earth and put me in a heavenly mindset. You can imagine yourself before the Lord of Heaven in the company of angels. That's the idea. We are supposed to leave the world behind when we enter into Sunday worship- when we worship God on His day we are entering into the heavenly worship described in Hebrews. The veil is torn and we are able to be with the Church Triumphant and the Heavenly Host as they fall on their knees and cry Holy Holy Holy.

Marc, who's read extensively about the Crusades, was able to tell me all about St. Louis, the pious King of France. The mural above was him calling his knights to crusade. He wrote a famous letter to his son, Phillip III, which shows the holy mindset he had.

You will notice Latin phrasing in old Cathedrals, and many people don't understand why the Church uses Latin- it was a universal language of the Church. The Church is such a melting pot of cultures that it is a beautiful thing to have a universal language. We already have a universal Missal- if you enter any Catholic Church in the WORLD on any Sunday you will hear the exact same Old Testament, Psalm, New Testament and Gospel reading. That's right- every Sunday Catholics hear at least four parts of Sacred Scripture. And if we still used Latin (which many Traditional Parishes do) we all say the exact same responses and prayers.

Above: Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth- Holy, Holy, Holy, the Lord God Sabaoth.

These two sides give us John 6:56, "Caro enim mea vere est cibus sanguis meus vere est potus."

"He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood abideth in me, and I in him."

"Ego sum via et veritas et vita", "I am the way, the truth, and the life." John 14:6.

The three statues above are Hope, Faith and Charity respectively. The words just above the tabernacle that holds the conscecrated Host read, "Ecce Panis Angelorum", "Behold the Bread of Angels."

Below we have "Te Deum Laudamus Te Dominum Confitemur", the words to an ancient hymn saying "We praise Thee, O God, we acknowledge Thee to be the Lord."

What's the deal D? Why are you posting all this? I just know 90% of my readers are Protestant and may not be acquainted with Cathedrals or understand why we love them and why they are built. They are supposed to take our souls out of this earthly, fallen world and transport us with their beauty to find the truth that is there (and the truth WHO is there). There is a heavenly sphere, it is beautiful, this world is not our home. When you walk past the sin and debauchery of the city and enter into a holy place you walk out changed. Pope Benedict spoke on this last year:

I have been speaking in recent weeks about medieval theology, and would now like to turn my attention to how the Christian faith of the Middle Ages inspired some of the greatest works of art of all time: the cathedrals of Europe. Romanesque cathedrals are distinctive for their size and for introducing to churches beautiful sculpture, including the image of Christ as the Universal Judge and the Gate of Heaven. By entering through Him, as it were, the faithful enter a space and even a time different from everyday life, somewhere they can anticipate eternal life through their participation in the liturgy. Gradually, Gothic architecture replaced the Romanesque, adding height and luminosity to the previous style. The Gothic cathedral translates the aspirations of the soul into architectural lines, and is a synthesis between faith, art and beauty which still raises our hearts and minds to God today. When faith encounters art, in particular in the liturgy, a profound synthesis is created, making visible the Invisible, and the two great architectural styles of the Middle Ages demonstrate how beauty is a powerful means to draw us closer to the Mystery of God. May the Lord help us to rediscover that "way of beauty," surely one of the best ways to know and to love Almighty God.

New Orleans Weekend- Whodat!

What can I say? My hubby and I just had the BEST trip to New Orleans- JUST US! It wasn't just us really- it was us and hundreds of his co-workers on a corporate retreat- but it felt like vacation to me!!! I LOVE the history in New Orleans and spent Friday by myself looking at churches and architecture and going all through the Louisiana State Museum while Marc went to meetings. I wasn't really interested in shopping, so I just did the history stuff. I did get great news on Noah's MRI on Friday which helped the mood of the weekend considerably. I walked for HOURS and then came back and took a nap before we got dressed up and went with a caravan to dinner at Broussard's. Here is beautiful St. Patrick's Church sandwhiched in between some buildings (they have Latin Mass here- so awesome!).

On Saturday, Marc went to meetings in the morning and I slept in and then went to the Ritz Carlton Spa for a massage! Yes, you read that right- yes, it was awesome! Then Marc met me for lunch- they gave us visa gift cards to get our lunch with and we found an Irish Pub which you know made my hubby so happy.

Remember when we used to take pictures of each other and not our kids?

After lunch we went to the World War II Museum- and to say this was a highlight of the trip would be an understatement. If you have not been- you NEED to go. It was AWESOME! They have the most amazing interactive movie thing with snow falling from the ceiling, your chair shakes, mist falls- you feel like you are in the war. It goes without saying, I cried like a baby like I do at any patriotic thing.

We walked around all afternoon and looked at the beauty of the French Quarter architecture. The detail people used to use- where did that attention to detail go? Saturday evening we went to mass at St. Louis Cathedral, the oldest Cathedral in the United States. That will be a post in itself- it was just heavenly.

THEN- Saturday night- to our surprise- when we got to the lobby to walk to dinner they had a jazz band and free Hurricane's to drink and had gotten police cars to block off the roads so we paraded to the Aquarium of the Americas for dinner. We all had white hankies to swing around and dance with.

They even had ANOTHER jazz band play in the BACK of the line- why we needed TWO bands I'm not sure- but it was a lot of fun! Now, it was kind of funny b/c Marc and I had been walking for MILES all afternoon and had had nothing to eat for like 5 hours and when I got in line to dance to the aquarium I was really thirsty and drank two hurricanes in about 5 minutes on an empty stomach. I didn't realize they had alcohol in them at first and so anyway.....I'm just saying that explains the next few pictures and how "merry" I was feeling.

Gone Prince Hunting....

Well you get down the fiddle and you get down the bow.....

We had full use of the aquarium and they had tables of all types of different foods all over the place. So as you walked through you could try the different food.

They also had tons of musicians spread around.

Such a fun night with my man. We kept taking pics like this b/c I didn't want to ask anyone to take our picture- it felt kind of high school.

But we finally did. :) After the Aquarium dinner we caught a movie and then walked to a nearby pub and heard a band. That's how carefree we were. It had been over three years since we'd gone anywhere overnight by ourselves.

Riding home on a chartered jet. The headrest was the logo for the retreat- it was a "Gumbo" theme- "a recipe for success". I'm so grateful the firm allowed wives to go and paid for us. What a special time for me and the Mr.

What about the babies, you ask? Where were they? I guess they were on the couch chillaxing.

Oh wait- I remember- amazing BB and Poppy came and took great care of the crew. They all had a blast- although I think my parents are exhausted!

Back to real life now. I missed it (no really I did... sort of). :)

Weekend Punkins

Friday evening was supposed to be a blast. Marc left work a little early so we could get to the Clanton pumpkin patch in time to enjoy ourselves and then he and the little ones were going to leave while Marky and I went to a bonfire birthday party for one of his best friends. It started out well. We got there and jumped on the hayride out to the pumpkin patch.

Everyone was having a blast! Marky and Julia picked out their pumpkins and played with the other kids (a few others had gotten there early).

Tucker, the outdoorsman at heart, had a blast on the farm. He loved his little baby punkin.

Then we headed back to wait for the party goers to arrive.

All the boys (about 15 6-year-olds) were playing around waiting to get on the hayride that would take them to a bonfire in the middle of the woods. All of a sudden the birthday boy started screaming and said, "my arm is broken!". And even from a distance we could all tell something wasn't right and his arm was indeed broken. Then it happened- he said, "Marky pushed me!". My stomach sank- please, please don't tell me that my son had any part in this tragedy. And yet, it was true. They were playing king of the hay bale and Marky had pushed the birthday boy off the hay bale, just as he had pushed Marky off moments earlier. Still, all I wanted to do was slowly walk backwards to the car and get out of there (you know, bow and say "and with that we bid you adieu.") The poor birthday boy had to go to the ER and the rest of the party had to get on the hayride and go out to the coolest bonfire ever and roast hot dogs and smores without the birthday boy. It was so sad. The birthday boy finally made it back at the very end as the fire was burning down and had just enough time to cut the cake and open presents. It was then that Marky realized the gravity of what had happened and was so sad. "I'm terrible," he said. "I'm so terrible- I broke his arm." I comforted him and assured him that we all knew it was an accident, but also explained that sometimes saying "Sorry" is not enough. Sometimes we have to go the extra mile to make things right. The great thing is that the birthday boys parents were MOST gracious and kind and went out of their way to make sure we knew they didn't blame us. A lesson is graciousness.

Saturday we had another birthday party to go to, which was great fun for Tuckerman who enjoyed a cupcake. No broken bones this time.

Nummy!

Keep the treats coming. Thanks for sharing your ice cream brother. A snow cone Sissy? Don't mind if I do!

And here is a picture of beautiful, longtime friend Christy and her lil punkin Christopher.

On Sunday we had our couples Bible study over and I figured out how to put two tables together in the dining room in order to seat 12- I was so excited. A fun weekend with lots of good friends. And beautiful weather on top of it all! Now onto conquering Monday. Let's go!

Quote to Rember

Mommy: Marky, was Jesus God or was Jesus a man?

Marky: He was both at the same time.

Mommy: That's right, He had a dual nature. But why did He become a man?

Marky: He had to so He could save us.

Mommy: But why a MAN? Why did He have to become a man?

Marky: (seeming shocked I don't understand this)....Because He had to take the penalty of our sin upon Himself. Otherwise we would have taken the penalty for our sin and died. That's how He saves us.

Mommy: Oh.